2023 Auburn Invitational
- February 3-4, 2023
- Auburn, Alabama
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Florida Athletics
AUBURN, Ala. – The Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving team wrapped up the Auburn Invitational with four more event wins on Saturday, Feb. 4. After posting four wins on Friday, the Gators ended their trip to Auburn with eight total event wins.
The Florida men dominated the 1650 free, finishing in the top five spots, led by Tyler Watson’s victorious time of 14:48.34, nearly 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Jack VanDeusen finished second, followed by Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Brennan Gravley, and Ben Cote.
After winning the 50 free last night, Edouard Fullum-Huot claimed first in the 100 free on Saturday, touching the wall in 42.49 for the win. Chance Tirheimer finished sixth, while Daniel Gordon was in 13th.
For the second straight day, Jace Crawford found himself first on the podium, this time in the 200 fly, swimming a 1:43.49 to edge out a win. Billy Jones finished third with a 1:45.37.
Raphael Rached Windmuller swam a 1:55.95 in the 200 breast to claim the top spot in the group, just ahead of Amro Al-Wir who finished second. Peter Bretzmann came in third, as the Gators went one-two-three in the event.
On the women’s side, Mary Kate Kelley finished third in the 200 back at 1:57.65, while the freshman duo of Jessica Strong and Anna Moore finished sixth and seventh in the 200 breast.
Florida will now set its sights on the SEC Championships, which take place from February 14-18 in College Station, Texas.
Courtesy: Auburn Athletics
AUBURN, Ala. – As head coach Ryan Wochomurka and the Tigers keep an eye fixed on the SEC Championships in two weeks, his squad kept the momentum going with a slew of excellent swims to kick off the Auburn Invitational on Friday.
WOMEN
Averee Preble, Lilly Byrne and Payton Marvin set the tone in the opening race of the day for the Tigers. Leading from start to finish in the 500 free, the trio went 1-2-3 with Preble leading the way with a solid 4:47.27.
No Tiger swims better in the IM’s than Hannah Ownbey. The junior touched the wall at a solid 1:58.85 with Maggie Gholston and Daisy Platts close behind in the second and third.
Lexie Mulvihill continues to trend in the right direction before SEC’s. Her 22.64 in the 50 free led everyone in the pool. Meanwhile, teammates Claudia Thamm and Emma Steckiel also showed well with a 22.93 and 23.04, respectively.
Meghan Lee, Valerie Tarazi, Abby Gibbons and Emma Steckiel kicked off the afternoon session with a more than solid performance in the 200 medley relay, touching in at 1:38.47.
Colby Hurt put in a personal best in the 400 IM during the morning time trials. In the afternoon, Hurt swam well again, clocking a 4:14.15.
There’s a new queen atop the 100 fly times this season and her name is Abby Gibbons. Gibbons’ 53.03 was more than enough to take over the crown leading into SEC’s in a few weeks. Claudia Thamm, Hannah Mattson and Avery Bargeron also performed well, taking third through fifth place.
In the 200 free, Polina Nevmovenko paced the field on Friday evening. However, it was Hannah Ownbey, Averee Preble and Lilly Byrne who all dropped time in the event for their season-bests.
A trio of Tigers dominated the scoreboard in the 100 breast. Brynn Curtis, Ainsley Jones and Val Tarazi all turned in respectable times.
To finish out the evening, Kensley Merritt picked up the win in the 100 back with a 52.95. Teammate Kyla Maloney dropped over .3 seconds for a season-best 53.05.
MEN
Michael Bonson and Mason Mathias were the two who kicked things off in the men’s 500 free. Bonson led the way with a 4:16.31 with Mathias nipping at his heels just .06 seconds behind.
It was Seth Maschmeier’s personal best 1:45.15 in the 200 IM that paced the field on Friday. Danny Schmidt and Evan McInerny took second and third.
A host of Orange and Blue Swimmers went sub-20 seconds in the men’s 50 free. Freshman Kalle Makinen hit the wall second overall with a 19.52. Mihalis Deliyiannis, Logan Tirheimer and Aidan Stoffle were all 19.75 or better. Nate Stoffle also powered in a 19.84.
Evan McInerny and Collin Klingman continued the theme of dropping time for Auburn on Friday. Both swam season-bests in the 400 IM with McInerny leading the way at 3:47.81.
Speaking of dropping time. Sohib Khaled, Logan Tirheimer, Seth Maschmeier, Rusty Jerger, Reid Mikuta and Tate Cutler were all up to the task in the 100 fly. Khaled’s 46.98 represented the third sub-47 performance of the season so far.
Auburn dominated the 200 freestyle. Mikkel Gadgaard took the crown in the event with Ryan Husband, Christian Sztolcman close behind. Fans didn’t forget Jon Vanzandt’s 1:35.35 swim as well.
When it came to the 100 breast, Alejandro Flores dialed up a season-best 53.22.
Rounding out the night, Kalle Makinen and Tate Cutler each found a swim sub-48 in the 100 back.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will round out the AU Invitational beginning at 10 a.m. CT with the First Chance Meet to follow right after.
AUBURN, Ala. – A busy day on the pool deck was just what the Tigers needed, finishing up the Auburn Invitational and the First Chance meet with a mountain of momentum heading into SEC Championships.
WOMEN
The Auburn women were set up and ready to go on Saturday. Kyla Maloney and Hannah Mattson each dropped significant time in the 200 back to go 1-2 in the event. Maloney dialed up a person-best 1:55.99. Later in the First Chance meet, the duo went 1-2 once again.
Lexie Mulvihill made sure to capture another title in the 100 free, leading with a time of 49.48. Polina Nevmovenko was right behind in the second. However, it was Meghan Lee and Maggie Gholston who both dropped the most time of any Tiger with Lee swimming two seconds faster than her previous best.
It was all Auburn in the 200 breast. Brynn Curtis, Hannah Ownbey, Ainsley Jones, Valerie Tarazi and Colby Hurt secured first through fifth.
When it came to the 200 fly, Casey Cullen paced the field with a solid 1:58.72. Avery Bargeon dropped .14 seconds to touch the wall second while Abby Gibbons came up third.
Cullen returned to the blocks in the First Chance meet, dropping her time from the morning’s 200 fly with a 1:58.61. This time it was Gibbons who took second in the afternoon with Morgan Gore securing third.
Lilly Byrne rounded out the morning session for the women in the mile. Her 16:39.07 was good enough for a season-best.
As morning kicked over to the afternoon, Colby Hurt swam a solid 500 free at 4:53.05.
Payton Marvin and Lilly Byrne each came up with strong efforts in the 200 free. Marvin took the heat with a 1:47.86 with Byrne right behind.
Polina Nevmovenko utilized the First Chance Meet as an opportunity to try her hand at the 100 back, touching in at 54.05.
Saturday proved to be a good day for Emma Steckiel. The junior popped a new season-best in the 100 free, touching the wall at 49.41.
Auburn went 1-2-3 in the 200 breast. Brynn Curtis led the charge, while Micaela Sierra and Cameron Dukat took second and third, respectively.
MEN
Equaling the effort of the women, Seth Maschmeier also went for a career-best in the 200 back to begin the day. The Suwannee, Georgia native put together a 1:43.65, almost two seconds faster than his previous best. Tate Cutler also dropped over two seconds and took fourth.
Kalle Makinen, Logan Tirheimer and Aidan Stoffle all went 43.50 or better in the 100 free. However, it was Ryan Husband who dropped .14 seconds to swim his best time of the season in the event.
In the 200 fly, Evan McInerny conjured up a personal best of 1:43.98. Meanwhile, Rusty Jerger’s 1:45.69 was his best time this season.
McInerny’s mojo was far from extinguished, dropping even more time in the First Chance Meet. Evan hit the wall at 1:43.12, with Rusty Jerger in second and Tate Cutler in third.
After swimming the mile in the morning, Drew Jordan had just over 30 minutes to recover for the 500. Jordan managed an impressive 4:27.89.
Mihalis Deliyiannis continues to stay under 20 seconds in his 50 free. The Louisville transfer grabbed a 19.97 to earn the win on Saturday.
Lewis Treggiden won the 100 free, dropping over half a second with a 43.72 and teammate Jon Vanzandt nearly equaled the effort with a 43.80. However, it was Grady Wheeler who brought the house down with his final race on the Plains as a Tiger, carried off the deck by his teammates.
UP NEXT
Auburn turns its attention to the postseason with the SEC Championships on the horizon in College Station, Texas Feb. 14-18.